Our View: Pope's resignation takes humility, courage

February 13, 2013 12:01 AM

February 13, 2013 12:01 AM

Residents of the Northeast were still digging out from piles of snow. Political pundits were pontificating about the likely topics of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address. Normally, that would be enough fodder to grab the headlines as we headed back to work Monday morning. Instead, people across the globe were stunned to learn that Pope Benedict XVI will resign on Feb. 28 for health reasons.

In his resignation letter to cardinals at the Vatican, the 85-year-old pope referred to his "advanced age" and said that the spiritual nature of his job requires "strength of mind and body." But that strength, he wrote, "has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me."

The last time a pope resigned was in 1415, so it's natural that the first reaction to Benedict XVI's announcement was shock. But then came an outpouring of admiration for Benedict XVI, who said that he decided to resign "after having repeatedly examined my conscience before God."

It takes humility to recognize your limits as you age. It takes courage to size up your ability to keep up with the demands of your job in a fast-paced world. Yet when we looked at Benedict XVI, we didn't see him as a frail octogenarian but as a senior citizen who had learned to use Twitter. That ability to master modern technology is one reason why Dan Cooney, 22, admires the current pope.

"I think (Benedict) guided the church through some really interesting times with the rise of social media," said Cooney, a student at John Carroll University who traveled with his Cathedral Preparatory School classmates to see the pope at Yankee Stadium in 2008. "He got a Twitter account. I actually follow him."

In the next few weeks, Catholics will be following the intrigue at the Vatican, speculating about whom the College of Cardinals will choose to succeed Benedict XVI when they vote in secret. Will the next pope be more conservative or liberal than Benedict XVI? Will his experience be heavy on the pastoral or scholarly side? Could the new leader be Latin American, African or even Irish-American? That last reference is to Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York City, who has been mentioned as a possible, although unlikely, choice for the next pope.

Local Catholics also speculated about the political leanings and personality of the next bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Erie, before Benedict XVI named Bishop Lawrence Persico to succeed Bishop Donald Trautman, who resigned at age 75. "The diocese needs younger leadership, younger blood, fresher ideas, bishops with more energy," Trautman said in 2009, when he was 73.

For Catholics, the pope's influence extends from the local level to the universal church. But the pope is also a world leader for peace and justice. We are grateful that Benedict XVI recognized that such a daunting task requires "strength of mind and body," and likely "more energy," too.